The serious human health problems which have their origins in obesity have been recognized in the medical profession for a number of years as evidenced by the flood of literature on the subject and by the number of so-called health centers which have proliferated in developed countries of the world for the purpose of assisting men and women to regain and retain a proper, healthful body weight and tone. Jack H. Whilmore and Albert R. Behnke in an article entitled PREDICTABILITY OF LEAN BODY WEIGHT THROUGH ANTHROPOMETRIC ASSESSMENT IN COLLEGE MEN published by JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY, Vol. 25, No. 4, October, 1968, cite twenty-three (23) literature references from which they summarize the problems, point out that obesity now appearing more frequently in childhood and early adolesence tends to persist into later life making it "highly desirable to assess lean body weight and its complement, percentage of body fat, at regular intervals throughout each individual's life beginning at an early age."
The same authors in an article entitled AN ANTHROPOMETRIC ESTIMATION OF BODY DENSITY AND LEAN BODY WEIGHT IN YOUNG MEN, published in JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY, Vol. 27, No. 1, July 1969, cite nineteen (19) literature references relating to methods used up to that time for assessing body fat and lean body weight in humans, including measurements of total body water, total body potassium, helium dilution, radiography and body density-specific gravity but point out that "they all share the common problems of requiring: (1) considerable time for a single determination, (2) relative elaborate and expensive equipment, and (3) rather complex procedures." They then report on their study to evaluate the predictability of body density and lean body weight from a sizable number of anthropometric measurements, such as skinfolds, diameters and circumferences but this approach has not solved the problems.
Attempts to solve the problems have been made by inventors who have obtained U.S. patents on their devices and methods among which are the following:
Taylor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,168. granted July, 15, 1969, for a complex mechanism for measuring fat content of animal tissue.
Fletcher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,834, granted Nov. 6, 1973, for a whole body measurement system including a special enclosed container for receiving a human body which is then subjected to changes in volume and pressure under isentropic conditions to determine body volume.
Whitmore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,749, granted Mar. 20, 1979, for a total body volume water comprising a large tank in which a human may sit and be completely immersed in water while determining the body volume
Vogelman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,763, granted Mar. 20, 1979 for a non-invasive method of determining body fat using special apparatus comprising a pair of airtight chambers to measure the body volume.
Brachet, U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,371, granted Jan. 22, 1980, for a special apparatus for measuring the density of a body comprising a main chamber in which the body is positioned, an auxiliary chamber, a subsonic wave generator and measuring means.
Van Haren, U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,406, granted May 22, 1984, for a method and device for measuring the fat content of meat in a production line.
None of these devices or methods makes available to the public a simple, economical, readily available way of determining accurately the volume and density of a human body.